Macc & Me - Making a Fool Out of Yourself in the Company of Giants

Yesterday, I was at Body Beach in Lake Havasu, Arizona, to conduct some early-morning testing with the new Ultra 260X and R&D Performance's Bill Chapin with his tuned FZR. Pulling in next to Bill's truck with a blue Yamaha FZR behind his red Kawasaki Teryx, Chris MacClugage walked up and introduced himself. Like Dick Landy, I was surprised by the height difference between he and I. Apparently, successful racers typically don't see north of six feet.

Explaining what I was up to, Chris' eyes went to the new Kawasaki, asking, "Man, that's good looking. What do you think?"

Sharing my initial impressions, I invited MacClugage to "fell free" and take the 260X out. Before I finished the sentence, the green-and-black runabout was weaving through the buoys, the supercharged 1.5L plant roaring like a feral cat. Returning - barely winded - MacClugage reported, "Kevin's right, it turns a lot harder on the nose." Although, before I go to print I laboriously weigh how to review each ski, it's still nice to hear the words "I agree with Kevin" come from somebody like MacClugage.

Chapin asked MacClugage and I to drag race the 260X against his modified Yamaha FZR. MacClugage and I made several passes, me (and my 220lbs) on the lighter FZR and Macc on the heavier Kawasaki. Regardless of the weight distribution, the smaller FZR always walked away from the Ultra. Understanding how imbalanced the race was (Chapin's FZR pushes 10 lbs. of boost without modding the supercharger), I laughed, "Enjoy this because you'll never beat Macc in another race again."

Wrapping up my testing session, I gritted my teeth and waded out chest deep into 42-degree water to load the skis. Walking out dripping wet, MacClugage asked, "Hey Kevin, where are you from?"

"Seal Beach, California. Just north of Huntington. Why?"

He smirked, "Because I thought you might be from the Northeast. You look to be handling the cold pretty well. I'm freezing my @$$ off."

"Nope," I replied. "But I am wearing a wetsuit under the riding pants and rash guard, so I'm not too cold."